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Brazil and Bolivia 
Boundary Settlement 

Treaty 

for the 

Exchange of Territories and Other Compensations 
Signed at Petropolis, November 17, 1903 

Together with the 

Report of Baron Rio Branco 

Minister for Foreign Relations of Brazil 


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PREFATORY NOTE 


The long-pending question between Brazil and Bolivia, 
as to their boundaries in the region of the Acre (Aquiry), 
reached in 1899 an acute stage. Two years later it be¬ 
came still more aggravated, as the result of the grant 
made by Bolivia to an Anglo-American syndicate of a 
concession that purported to convey to a foreign com¬ 
pany, which was to be incorporated in Europe or in the 
United States, extraordinary rights, powers, and privileges 
in the whole of the disputed territory. The Government 
of Brazil obtained, in February, 1903, a renunciation 
by the syndicate of all its pretensions, and then en¬ 
tered upon negotiations for the settlement of the terri¬ 
torial question on the broad and comprehensive basis of 
mutual interest and convenience. These negotiations 
were brought to a successful close by the signature of a 
treaty at Petropolis, on November 17, 1903. This treaty 
was subsequently ratified by the Brazilian Congress and 
by the Congress of Bolivia. In the Congress of Brazil 
the vote in favor of ratification stood, in the Senate, 35 
to 9; in the Chamber of Deputies, 119 to 13. The ratifica¬ 
tions were exchanged on March 10, 1904. 


iii 



>• 


TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

I. Message of the President of Brazil, Submit¬ 
ting to the Congress the Treaty Signed at 
Petropolis, November 17, 1903 1 

II. Report of Baron Rio-Branco, Minister for 

Foreign Relations of Brazil ... 9 

III. Maps. 


V 



I. 


MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE 
UNITED STATES OF BRAZIL. 


To the Members of the National Congress: 

I submit for your consideration and approval a treaty 
concluded on November 17th last by the Plenipotentiaries 
of Brazil and Bolivia, together with a Report made to me 
by the Minister of State for Foreign Relations, accom¬ 
panied by several documents. 

If this compact meets with your approval, I beg that 
you will at the same time authorize the Government to 
contract the loans necessary for its execution, as well as 
to adopt measures for the provisional administration of 
and the collection of the revenues in the territories 
which are recognized as Brazilian. 

Francisco de Paula Rodrigues Alves. 

Rio de Janeiro, December 29, 1903. 

THE TREATY. 

The Republic of the United States of Brazil and the 
Republic of Bolivia, animated by the desire to consolidate 
perpetually their ancient friendship by removing all 
grounds of future disagreement, and wishing at the same 
time to facilitate the development of their relations of 
commerce and good neighborhood, have agreed to con¬ 
clude a treaty for the exchange of territories and other 
compensations, in accordance with the stipulations of 



2 Brazil and Bolivia Boundary Settlement 

Article V of the Treaty of Friendship, Boundaries, Navi¬ 
gation, and Commerce, of March 27, 1867, 1 and to that 
effect have named their Plenipotentiaries, to wit: 

The President of the Republic of the United States of 
Brazil, Jos6 Maria Da Silva Paranhos do Rio-Branco, 
Minister of Foreign Relations, and Joaquim Francisco de 
Assis-Brasil, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipo¬ 
tentiary in the United States of America; and 

The President of the Republic of Bolivia, Fernando E. 
Guachalla, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipo¬ 
tentiary on a Special Mission to Brazil and Senator of the 
Republic, and Claudio Pinilla, Envoy Extraordinary and 
Minister Plenipotentiary in Brazil and lately appointed 
Minister of Foreign Relations; 

Who, after having exchanged their full powers, which 
were found in good and due form, have agreed on the 
following articles: 

Article I. 

The frontier between the Republic of the United States 
of Brazil and the Republic of Bolivia shall be established 
as follows: 

1. Starting from latitude 20° 08' 35" south, opposite 
the outlet of Bahia Negra in the Paraguay River, the 
boundary line shall ascend that river to a point on the 
right bank nine kilometers distant in a straight line, from 
Fort Coimbra; that is, approximately in latitude 19 0 58' 
05" and longitude 14 0 39' 14" west of the observatory of 
Rio de Janeiro (57 0 47' 40" west of Greenwich), according 
to the frontier map drawn up by the Mixed Boundary 
Commission of 1875, an d shall continue, from this point, 
on the right bank of the Paraguay, by a geodetic line 
which shall meet another point 4 kilometers distant, in the 
exact location of 27 0 oi' 22" northeast from the so-called 

I See Note A, infra, p. 35. 


Brazil and Bolivia Boundary Settlement 3 

“Marco do fundo da Bahia Negra,” the distance of 4 
kilometers being accurately measured on the present 
frontier, so that this point shall be approximately in 
I 9° 45 r 36". 6 of latitude and 14 0 55' 46". 7 of longitude 
west of Rio de Janeiro (58° 04' 12". 7 west of Greenwich). 
Thence it shall proceed in the same direction, as deter¬ 
mined by the Mixed Commission of 1875, as far as lati¬ 
tude 19 0 02', and then to the east, along this parallel to 
the brook Conceigao, which it shall follow to its mouth on 
the southern bank of the outlet of the Lake Caceres, also 
called the Tamengos River. It shall ascend along this 
outlet to the meridian which crosses Tamarindeiro Point, 
and thence to the north along the meridian of Tamar¬ 
indeiro to latitude 18 0 54', continuing along this parallel 
to the west till it meets the present boundary line. 

2. From the point of intersection of parallel 18 0 54' 
with the straight line which forms the present boundary 
line, it shall proceed in the same direction as the present 
frontier line to latitude 18 0 14', and along this parallel it 
shall run, to the east, to the outlet of the Mandiore lagoon, 
which it shall ascend, crossing the lagoon in a straight 
line to a point on the old boundary line equally distant 
between the two present landmarks; thence along this old 
frontier line to the landmark on the southern bank. 

3. From the landmark on the northern shore of 
Mandiore lagoon it shall continue in a straight line in the 
same direction as the present boundary line to latitude 
17 0 49', and along this parallel to the meridian of the ex¬ 
treme southeastern part of Gahiba lagoon; thence fol¬ 
lowing this meridian to the lagoon, and crossing the 
latter in a straight line to a point on the old boundary line 
equally distant from the two existing landmarks, and 
thence following the old frontier line to the entrance of 
the Canal Pedro Segundo, also recently called Pando 
River. 


4 


Brazil and Bolivia Boundary Settlement 


4. From the southern entrance of the Pedro Segundo 
Canal, or Pando River, to the confluence of the Beni and 
Mamore, the boundary shall be the same as established 
in Article II of the Treaty of March 27, 1867. 1 

5. From the confluence of the Beni and Mamore 
rivers, the frontier shall follow the course of the Madeira 
River to the mouth of the Abunan, its tributary on the 
left bank, and shall ascend the Abunan to latitude io° 20'; 
thence it shall continue westward along the parallel of 
io° 20' to the Rapirran River, following this river to its 
main source. 

6. From the main source of the Rapirran, the line 
shall follow the parallel of that source westward till it 
meets the Iquiry River; thence along this river to its 
source, and from this point to Bahia Creek it shall follow 
the highest elevations of land, or a straight line, as the 
Boundary Commissioners of the two countries shall deem 
most convenient. 

7. From the source of Bahia Creek it shall follow this 
stream to its confluence with the Acre or Aquiry River 
on the right bank, and thence along this river to its source, 
if the latter is not more than 69° west of Greenwich. 

(a) In the case supposed, that is, if the longitude of 
the source of the Acre is less western than the one indi¬ 
cated, the frontier shall follow the meridian of the source 
to parallel n°, and thence it shall continue westward, 
along the latter parallel until it meets the boundary line 
with Peru. 

( b ) If, as seems certain, the Acre River should cross 
longitude 69° west of Greenwich and run now north then 
south of parallel n°, more or less following the latter, the 
bed of the river shall form the dividing line to its source, 
and it shall continue along its meridian to parallel n°, 
and thence westward along the latter parallel to the 

I See Note A, infra, p. 35. 


Brazil and Bolivia Boundary Settlement 5 

frontier of Peru; but if, west of the said longitude 69°, 
the Acre should run always south of parallel n°, the 
frontier line shall be continued from this river along 
longitude 69° to its intersection with parallel n°, and 
thence along the latter parallel till it meets the frontier 
of Peru. 

Article II. 

The transfer of territories resulting from the demar¬ 
cation described in the preceding article includes all the 
rights pertaining thereto and the responsibility of main¬ 
taining and respecting the real rights acquired by citizens 
and foreigners in accordance with the principles of the 
civil law. 

All claims arising out of administrative acts or of things 
taking place in the exchanged territories shall be ex¬ 
amined and decided by an arbitration tribunal, which 
shall be composed of one representative from Brazil, one 
from Bolivia, and a foreign minister accredited to the 
Brazilian Government. The third arbitrator shall be 
president of the tribunal, and shall be chosen by the Two 
High Contracting Parties soon after the exchange of the 
ratifications of the present treaty. The tribunal shall sit 
for one year in Rio de Janeiro, and shall begin to trans¬ 
act business within six months after the exchange of the 
ratifications. Its business shall be: 1. To accept or reject 
claims; 2. to fix the amount of indemnity; and 3. to 
designate which of the two Governments shall pay the 
indemnity. 

Payments may be made in special bonds at par, bearing 
3 per cent, interest, the sinking fund being 3 per cent, per 
annum. 

Article III. 

As there is no equivalence in the areas of the territories 
exchanged between the two nations, the United States of 


6 Brazil and Bolivia Boundary Settlement 


Brazil shall pay an indemnity of £2,000,000 sterling, 
which the Republic of Bolivia accepts with the intention 
of using the same mainly in the construction of railways 
or other works tending to improve the communications 
and develop commerce between the two countries. 

The payment shall be made in two installments of 
£1,000,000 each, the first installment to be paid within 
three months after the exchange of the ratifications of 
the present treaty, and the second on March 31, 1905. 

Article IV. 

A Mixed Commission, appointed by the two Govern¬ 
ments within one year from the date of the exchange of 
the ratifications, shall proceed to the demarcation of the 
frontier as stipulated in Article I, beginning its work 
within six months after its appointment. 

Any controversy arising between the Brazilian and 
Bolivian Commissions, which cannot be resolved by the 
two Governments, shall be submitted to the arbitral de¬ 
cision of a member of the “Royal Geographical Society 
of London/ * chosen by the President and members of the 
council of the same. 

If the boundary commissioners appointed by one of the 
High Contracting Parties fail to be present at the place 
and time fixed for beginning the work, the commissioners 
of the other shall proceed by themselves to the demarca¬ 
tion, and the results of their operations shall be binding 
on both. 

Article V. 

The Two High Contracting Parties shall conclude within 
the term of eight months a treaty of commerce and navi¬ 
gation, based upon the principle of the most ample free¬ 
dom of transit and river navigation to both countries, a 
right which they shall enjoy perpetually, on condition of 


Brazil and Bolivia Boundary Settlement 7 

their respecting the fiscal and police regulations estab¬ 
lished, or which may here'after be established, in the terri¬ 
tory of each. These regulations shall be as favorable as 
possible to navigation and commerce and shall be as 
nearly as possible uniform in the two countries. It is 
understood and declared, however, that this stipula¬ 
tion does not include the navigation from port to port 
in the same country or the coastwise trade by the rivers, 
which shall continue subject in each of the two States to 
its respective laws. 

Article VI. 

In conformity with the stipulations of the preceding 
article and for the dispatch in transit of articles of export 
and import, Bolivia shall have the right to keep custom¬ 
house agents at the Brazilian custom houses of Belem, of 
Para, Manaos, and Corumba, and at the other custom¬ 
house agencies which Brazil may establish on the Madeira 
and the Mamore or in other localities on the common fron¬ 
tier. Reciprocally, Brazil may maintain custom-house 
agents at the Bolivian custom house of Villa Bella, or at 
any other custom-house agency which Bolivia may estab¬ 
lish on the common frontier. 

Article VII. 

The United States of Brazil binds itself to build on 
Brazilian territory, by itself or by a private company, a 
railway to extend from the port of Santo Antonio, on the 
Madeira River, to Guajara-Mirim, on the Mamore, with a 
branch road running through Villa-Murtinho, or some 
other point near it (in the State of Matto-Grosso) to Villa 
Bella, at the confluence of the Beni and Mamore. Brazil 
shall endeavor to finish this road within four years, and 
both countries shall have the use of it with a right to the 
same privileges and rates. 


8 Brazil and Bolivia Boundary Settlement 
Article VIII. 

The Republic of the United States of Brazil declares 
that it will negotiate directly with the Republic of Peru 
concerning the boundary question relative to the territory 
comprised between the source of the Javary and parallel 
ii°, and will endeavor to reach a friendly solution of the 
dispute without imposing responsibility upon Bolivia in 
any event. 

Article IX. 

Should differences arise between the two countries 
as regards the interpretation and execution of the pres¬ 
ent treaty, they shall be submitted to arbitration. 

Article X. 

The present treaty, after it has been approved by the 
Legislative power of each of the two Republics, shall be 
ratified by the respective Governments, and the rati¬ 
fications shall be exchanged in the city of Rio de Janeiro 
as soon as possible. 

In faith whereof, we, the Plenipotentiaries above 
named, sign the present treaty, in duplicate copies, each 
in the Portuguese and Spanish languages, and thereto affix 
our seals. Done in the city of Petropolis on the seven¬ 
teenth day of November, in the year one thousand nine 
hundred and three. 

(L. S.) Rio-Branco 

(L. S.) J. F. de Assis-Brasil 

(L. S.) Fernando E. Guachalla 

(L. S.) Claudio Pinilla 


II. 


REPORT OF THE MINISTER FOR FOREIGN 
RELATIONS OF BRAZIL. 


Department of Foreign Relations, 

Rio de Janeiro, December 27, 1903. 

To the President of the Republic: 

I have the honor to place in Your Excellency’s hands an 
authenticated copy of the treaty of exchange of terri¬ 
tories and other compensations, signed in Petropolis on 
the seventeenth day of November last by the Plenipo¬ 
tentiaries of Brazil and Bolivia. 

The first attempts to negotiate a direct agreement were 
made by me, a short while after I assumed the direction 
of the Department of Foreign Relations, on the third day 
of December of last year. Authorized by Your Excel¬ 
lency, I then proposed to purchase the Acre territory. 
This proposition was at once rejected. Afterwards I 
endeavored to negotiate on the basis of an unequal ex¬ 
change of territories, supplemented by other compensa¬ 
tions. The military expeditions of Bolivia against our 
citizens in Acre interrupted the negotiations. Brazil 
having decided upon the military occupation of the terri¬ 
tory to the north of parallel io° 20', which only then was 
officially declared to be in dispute, the negotiation of the 
preliminary agreement for a modus vivendi in Acre was 
begun. This negotiation was brought to an end on 
March 21st. By virtue of the agreement which was then 


9 



io Brazil and Bolivia Boundary Settlement 

signed in La Paz,—and which I negotiated by telegraph, 
assisted by Mr. Eduardo Lisboa, our worthy representa¬ 
tive in Bolivia,—the Brazilian troops continued to occupy 
the territory in dispute, and the Brazilian military gover¬ 
nor was authorized to send detachments to the south of 
that parallel, in territory recognized as Bolivian and 
within agreed limits, with the special object of preventing 
conflicts between the armed Acreans and the Bolivian 
troops during the term for which hostilities were by com¬ 
mon accord to be suspended. Meanwhile, the governor 
popularly proclaimed by the Acreans was to continue in 
the exercise of his authority to the south of said parallel. 
Our intervention was designed, not to repress the insur¬ 
rection, but to protect our citizens and maintain the 
status quo while we were discussing the principal point, 
which was an agreement capable of removing forever the 
difficulties which the two countries had encountered since 
1899. 

On July 1st, Doctor Fernando Guachalla, Envoy Ex¬ 
traordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of Bolivia on a 
special mission, delivered to Your Excellency his creden¬ 
tials. As stated in his full powers and in those of Mr. 
Claudio Pinilla, who at the time was Envoy Extraordinary 
and Minister Plenipotentiary here, accredited in per¬ 
manent mission, these two distinguished diplomats were 
commissioned to negotiate with us on the basis of an 
equitable exchange of territories, or, this being impossible, 
on that of arbitration for the interpretation of Article II of 
the treaty of 186 7. The idea of a compensation in money, 
on which I continued to insist, was rejected anew, in 
March, by the Bolivian Government. It was only in 
August, as it appears, that the instructions of the Bolivian 
Plenipotentiaries were enlarged. 

As I desired the valuable aid of the intelligence, capa¬ 
city and patriotism of Senator Ruy Barbosa and Mr. Assis- 


Brazil and Bolivia Boundary Settlement 11 

Brasil, Your Excellency, by decrees of July 17th, associated 
them with me as Plenipotentiaries, in order that we to¬ 
gether should negotiate with the Representatives of 
Bolivia. 

On July 22d we three agreed upon the proposition that 
we were to present to our Bolivian opponents, and on the 
following day it was handed to them by me in Petropolis. 
We asked from Bolivia the territories which by the pres¬ 
ent treaty she recognizes as Brazilian, and we offered 
them in exchange: 

1. The small triangular territory lying between the 
Madeira and the Abunan, the area of which, reckoned 
then hastily, we supposed to be 3500 square kilometers; 

2. An enclosure of two hectares on the right margin of 
the Madeira near Santo Antonio, so that she might estab¬ 
lish there a customs post; 

3. An indemnity of one million pounds sterling; 

4. The construction in Brazilian territory, from the 
first waterfall of the Mamore River, which is that of Gua- 
jara-Mirim, to that of Santo Antonio, in the Madeira 
River, of a railway, granting to Bolivia the facilities speci¬ 
fied in the treaty concluded at Rio de Janeiro on May 15, 
1882, which never came into force. 

The offer of the two hectares in Santo Antonio was in¬ 
tended to facilitate our opposition to the cession of the 
two banks of the Madeira above Santo Antonio. In 
October we were enabled, though with difficulty, to 
withdraw that offer, by showing the v^lue of the other 
compensations subsequently offered or granted, and 
demonstrating that a custom house thus detached and 
isolated could not be of any practical service to Bolivia. 

Before July 22d, I expressed to my Plenipotentiary col¬ 
leagues of Brazil the opinion that, in order to come to a 
direct agreement, it would be necessary to make to Bolivia 
some concession or concessions on the lower Brazilian 


12 Brazil and Bolivia Boundary Settlement 

Paraguay, in order to carry out the intention of the Im¬ 
perial Government in 1867, which was to give her in that 
region ports which might be utilized for her foreign com¬ 
merce. I also acquainted them with the fact that a 
protocol was signed in 1896 embodying the same idea. It 
was thought expedient, however, not at once to advance 
from the initial proposition to the extreme of the con¬ 
cessions which we could reasonably make, and for this 
reason we reserved till a later time the making of that 
offer, or the acceptance of the demand which might be 
presented to us in a similar sense. 

The proposition above summarized was on the next day, 
July 24th, promptly declared unacceptable by the Bolivian 
Plenipotentiaries. On August 13th, I received the counter 
proposition formulated by them. It proposed a modi¬ 
fication of frontier from which the following would result: 

1. To the south of the oblique line running from the 
Javary to the Bern, scarcely one third of the territory 
claimed by Brazil would be left to her; that is to say, the 
part which lies to the west of the Iquiry River, being 
bounded on the south by the parallel which intersects 
the mouth of the Xapury, an affluent of the left bank of the 
Acre, and then by the course of the Xapury, and, to the 
west, by the meridian of longitude of 70° west of Greenwich. 

2. There would pass to the possession of Bolivia: 

On the north (in the States of Amazonas and Matto- 
Grosso); 

(a) The two banks of the Madeira above or to the 
south of the mouth of the Jamary, comprising two zones 
bounded on the west by a straight line drawn from the 
parallel of the mouth of this affluent to the confluence 
of the Rapirran and the Iquiry, and, to the east, by 
another straight line drawn from the mouth of the same 
Jamary River to the confluence of the Mamore; 

To the south (Matto-Grosso) the territories lying: 





Brazil and Bolivia Boundary Settlement 13 

( b) To the west of a line drawn from the so-called 
“Marco do fundo da Bahia Negra” to the outlet of the 
Caceres Lagoon; 

(c) To the west of the Paraguay River, which would 
continue to be the frontier, from this outlet to the con¬ 
fluence of the Jauru; 

(d) To the west of the Jauru and to the south of its 
affluent, the Bagres; to the south and west of the upper 
Guapore to the point at which it receives, on its left bank, 
the Verde River, thus giving to Bolivia all the land 
washed by the Aguapehy, an affluent of the Jauru, and by 
the Alegre and Verde, tributaries of the Guapore. 

The Bolivian Ministers demanded, besides, that, the 
reciprocal advantage of the Madeira-Mamore railroad 
being acknowledged, and the territories which their coun¬ 
try was ready to transfer being undoubtedly richer and 
more fruitful than those which they demanded from 
Brazil, we should engage to construct in territory which 
would pass to Bolivia—from Santo Antonio in the 
Madeira to Guajarh-Mirim in the Mamore—the railroad in 
question, and that we should yield it in full title to Bolivia. 

This counter proposition could not but be, as it was, 
declined by me without any hesitation and without con¬ 
sultation with my colleagues. 

Meanwhile Mr. Assis-Brasil and I began to exchange 
ideas with the Bolivian Plenipotentiaries in several private 
conversations which took place in Petropolis, and to en¬ 
deavor to find a basis on which we might come to an un¬ 
derstanding, before entering upon the formal conferences 
in which Mr. Ruy Barbosa was to participate, since we 
could not reasonably ask him to withdraw from his labors 
in the Senate in order to take part in such long and weari¬ 
some preliminaries. I was careful, however, to keep him 
advised of everything of importance that happened, and 
always asked his opinion. 


14 Brazil and Bolivia Boundary Settlement 

The Bolivian Plenipotentiaries having at first insisted 
that we should grant them a strip of land five leagues wide 
along the right bank of the Madeira from the Mamore to 
the Santo Antonio, and afterwards that we should grant a 
strip of the same width on the left bank, I requested, on 
both occasions, a meeting of the Council of Ministers in 
order to ascertain whether such propositions, the first of 
which precluded any pecuniary indemnity, ought or ought 
not to be accepted in an extreme case, that is to say, if 
their rejection should cause the rupture of the negotia¬ 
tions for a direct agreement. When the second point 
was examined,—the proffered indemnity having then 
been increased by me to two million pounds sterling, 
and a modification having been proposed on the Matto- 
Grosso frontier, from Bahia Negra to the source of the 
brook Conceigao, which would result in a transfer to 
Bolivia of 2300 square kilometers, mostly marshy land,— 
Senator Ruy Barbosa asked, in a letter dated October 
17th, that he should be relieved and insisted upon it, think¬ 
ing, no doubt, because I had not sufficiently explained 
myself, that the Bolivian Plenipotentiaries were not 
amenable to concessions, in which case he preferred arbi¬ 
tration. The eminent Brazilian then withdrew, much to 
the regret of Your Excellency, of myself, and of Mr. 
Assis-Brasil, who thus saw ourselves deprived of the valu¬ 
able co-operation and loyal advice which up to that time 
had been given us. 

Mr. Assis-Brasil and I continued the negotiations, and 
on us alone falls the responsibility of the agreement con¬ 
cluded with the representatives of Bolivia. 


It seems to me pertinent here to make an explanation. 
In the treaty it was not expressly declared what were 
the territories exchanged, but the lines of the new fron¬ 
tier were simply described with all possible minuteness and 



Brazil and Bolivia Boundary Settlement 15 

clearness. We thus conformed to the practice generally 
observed in the framing of agreements of this nature. 
The mutual cessions further explained in this report can 
be well verified only by carefully reading Article I, so far 
as it relates to the slight modifications in our boundary of 
Matto-Grosso (paragraphs 1 to 4), in connection with a 
copy of the map drawn up by the Brazilian-Bolivian 
Mixed Commission of 1875 ; and, so far as it relates to the 
Amazon region (paragraphs 5 to 7), in connection with 
another map showing the part comprised between 6|- and 
12 degrees of south latitude, and 62 and 74 degrees of 
longitude west of Greenwich. Of the first of these maps 
a reduction was made; the second one was drawn up, 
after a careful examination of the best documents, by 
Rear-Admiral Guillobel. 

In paragraph 7, of the same Article I, several hypoth¬ 
eses are established regarding the principal course of the 
upper Acre. Our only object in agreeing to this was 
to satisfy the Bolivian Plenipotentiaries. The Brazilian 
Plenipotentiaries had asked that the boundary, from the 
confluence of the Bahia Creek to the west, should follow 
the bed of the river Acre to its principal source, and 
thence the parallel of that source to the point where it 
strikes Peruvian territory. The Bolivian Plenipoten¬ 
tiaries feared that, on running the line, the Mixed Com. 
mission might adopt, as the true upper Acre, one of the 
rivers now considered as southern affluents (the Verde or 
the Paragas River), so that the new boundary which we 
desired to locate in the neighborhood of parallel n° 
would be carried much to the south. To meet the desire 
of the Bolivian Plenipotentiaries we established those hy¬ 
potheses, but the Brazilian Plenipotentiaries are convinced 
that the boundary will in fact follow the upper course of 
the Aquiry or Acre which runs now to the south now to 
the north of parallel n°, as shown by the plan made by 


16 Brazil and Bolivia Boundary Settlement 


W. Chandless in 1865, and published, with his “Explana¬ 
tory Notes,” in the Journal of the Royal Geographical 
Society of London, Volume xxxvi, 1867. 


The so-called territory of Acre, or more correctly Aquiry, 
the principal cause and object of the present agreement, 
is, like all the immense region watered by the southern 
affluents of the Amazon to the east of the Javary, a 
geographical dependency of Brazil. Easy access to these 
territories can be had only by the fluvial waters of the 
Amazon system, and for this reason they were long ago 
discovered and exclusively peopled and rendered valuable 
by our citizens. To the south of the geodetic line, drawn 
from the confluence of the Beni with the Mamore to the 
source of the Javary, there are now more than 60,000 
Brazilians who work on the banks and in the neighboring 
forests of the upper Purus and its tributaries, among 
which are the Acre, the Hyuaco or Yaco, the Chandless, 
and the Manoel Urbano, and, in those of the upper Jurud, 
including its most southerly affluents, the Moa, Jurud- 
Mirim, Amonea, Tejo, and Breu. 

In the territory of upper Acre, to the south of Cauqeta, 
there are about 20,000 inhabitants of Brazilian nationality, 
principally engaged in the industry of gathering India 
rubber. Such is the calculation—and it accords with that 
of other persons who are familiar with these regions— 
which I find in a recent official report of a Bolivian official 
who resided there by commission of his Government. 

When in 1867 we negotiated with Bolivia the first 
boundary treaty, the valleys of the upper Purus and 
upper Jurud were not peopled, but we had an indisputable 
right to them in all their extent. The preliminary treaty 
of 1777 between the Crowns of Portugal and Spain was 
annulled by reason of the war of 1801 and of the fact that 



Brazil and Bolivia Boundary Settlement 17 

it was not restored by the peace of Badajoz. There did 
not exist, therefore, any conventional right; and as we 
had in fact effectively occupied, since the beginning of the 
eighteenth century, the right bank of the Solimoes, and 
had besides controlled the banks of the lower course of its 
affluents, we had a title which comprised the sources of 
them all, there being no neighbor that could oppose to us 
a title based on effective occupation of the upper course. 
Our right was the same as that which is derived from the 
occupation of a maritime coast, and which is applied to 
the valleys of the rivers that flow into it; the right main¬ 
tained by Monroe and Pinckney in 1805, and later in¬ 
culcated by Twiss, Phillimore, and nearly all the other 
modem masters of international law. 1 

In the Madeira, the case was different. We possessed 
all its lower course, the eastern bank of a small section of 
the Mamore, and the eastern bank of the Guapore to its 
confluent, the Paragahu, and controlled the latter’s right 
bank; but the Bolivians effectively occupied the La Paz 
River, a tributary of the Beni, which is the upper Madeira. 

For the establishment of the boundaries in the treaty 
of 1867, the basis of the uti possidetis was adopted, the 
basis on which were founded all similar agreements con¬ 
cluded by us with the neighboring republics; and instead 
of establishing natural or arcifinious frontiers, following 
the lines of the divortium aquarium, which would leave us 
in complete possession of all the tributaries of the Soli¬ 
moes, it was admitted, to the advantage of Bolivia, that 
the right resulting from the possession or from the spheres 
of influence of the two peoples could reasonably be deter¬ 
mined by the parallel of the confluence of the Beni and 
Mamore, that is to say, by that of io° 20', from that point 
on the east to the Javary on the west, the source of which 
was supposed to be in a more southerly latitude. For 
*See Note B, infra, p. 39. 


18 Brazil and Bolivia Boundary Settlement 


this reason Article II, in its penultimate paragraph, 
established the boundary along this line parallel to the 
Equator, and in the next paragraph made use of the ex¬ 
pression “line east to west.” 1 

But as the last paragraph, under the supposition that 
the source of the Javary was situated “to the north of the 
line east to west,” provides that in that case “the boun¬ 
dary shall run on from the said latitude in a straight line 
to the principal source of said Javary River,” without, 
however, specifying the starting-point of the second line 
in said latitude of io° 20', the opinion had, since Decem¬ 
ber, 1867, officially prevailed that the boundary ought to 
follow a line running obliquely to the Equator, from the 
confluence of the Beni to the source of the Javary, so 
that the line of the uti possidetis , which according to the 
treaty ran east to west, was displaced to our prejudice, 
its exact location depending upon the discovery of an 
unknown point, as the source of the Javary then was. 
I have read that during the negotiations in La Paz, in 
the first months of 1867, our Plenipotentiary, Lopes Netto, 
presented maps, drawn under the direction of Duarte da 
Ponte Ribeiro, on which the oblique line was drawn, but 
I do not find any vestige of this in the official corre¬ 
spondence. The oldest of the maps shown to me, on which 
I found the oblique line, bears the date of 1873. tn the 
atlas Do Imperio do Brazil , of Candido Mendes de Almeida, 
published in 1868, the author having full knowledge of 
the treaty of 1867, to which he referred in his introduction, 
the boundary is drawn along the east-to-west line of the 
io° 20' parallel. But, after all, and this is what it is neces¬ 
sary to understand, the Brazilian Government adopted, 
after the end of 1867, the view which was most favorable 
to Bolivia. 

At that time, when the boundary had not yet been 
I See Note A, infra, p. 36. 


Brazil and Bolivia Boundary Settlement 19 

completely run, Brazilians began to pass through the 
upper Purus, upper Jurufi, and their tributaries. In 
1899, when the Bolivian Government first sought to 
assert its sovereignty in Acre, the Brazilian population 
which had in good faith settled there was as numerous 
as it is at present. Then began the revolt of those Bra¬ 
zilians against the Bolivian rule, and here among our¬ 
selves the periodical commotions caused by the events 
in Acre. 


When Your Excellency was inaugurated on November 
15 th of last year, you found our friendly relations with 
Bolivia somewhat disturbed, and the questions relating 
to the Acre territory in an extremely serious and com¬ 
plicated position. 

All the immense region above mentioned, lying to the 
south of a geodetic line drawn from the principal source 
of the Javary to the confluence of the Bern" with the Ma- 
more, was acknowledged as Bolivian by numerous acts 
and declarations of the Governments which had succeeded 
each other in Brazil since 1867, both during the Imperial 
regime and after the proclamation of the Republic. An 
Anglo-American syndicate, called the Bolivian Syndicate, 
armed with almost sovereign rights which the Boliv¬ 
ian Government had granted it for the administration, 
defence, and use of Acre, tried, happily without success, 
to interest some commercial powers of Europe and the 
United States of America in the enterprise, which was the 
first attempt to introduce in our Continent the African 
and Asiatic system of chartered companies. z 

The eminent predecessor of Your Excellency, having 
failed in all his efforts to secure the rescission of this 
contract, or at least a satisfactory modification of certain 
clauses in which he perceived inconveniences and perils 
1 See Note C, infra, p. 41. 



20 Brazil and Bolivia Boundary Settlement 


both for Brazil and for Bolivia herself, had entered on a 
course of reprisals. To this end he had obtained from 
Congress, to whose examination it had been submitted, 
the withdrawal of the treaty of commerce and navigation 
between the two countries, and had suppressed in our 
rivers the freedom of transit for exports and imports of 
Bolivia. In Acre the population, exclusively Brazilian, 
had since August again been in a state of revolt, having 
proclaimed its independence of Bolivia with the intention 
of later asking for the annexation to Brazil of the territory 
to the north of the river Orton. With the exception of 
Port Acre, where the Bolivian forces were able to resist 
till the end of January of this year, all the other points 
were controlled by the Brazilian insurgents. In Ama¬ 
zonas, the representatives of the Bolivian Syndicate were 
on the point of ascending the Purus, and in fact they 
shortly afterwards began the voyage in the hope that 
they might reach Port Acre. In Bolivia, military ex¬ 
peditions were prepared to raise the siege of that place, 
subdue the Acreans, and give possession to the syndicate. 
Among us, eminent men in Congress, in the press, and in 
scientific societies had since 1900 combated the official 
interpretation given to the treaty of 1867 and had main¬ 
tained that the stipulated frontier was not the line running 
obliquely to the Equator, but that of the parallel of io° 20'. 
Public opinion, strongly aroused, demanded that the 
territory comprised between the two lines and the fron¬ 
tier with Peru should be recovered by diplomatic means 
or by the most energetic measures at the Government’s 
disposal. 


Owing to the situation which I have briefly explained, 
the problems I encountered on assuming the direction 
of this Department were various and difficult. 

The first of these problems proceeded from the sup- 



Brazil and Bolivia Boundary Settlement 21 

pression of the free commercial transit between Bolivia 
and foreign countries, through our waterways. France, 
Germany, England, the United States, and Switzerland 
protested against it. 

Another difficulty might arise from the fact that Brazil 
had effectually prevented the fulfilment of the obliga¬ 
tions of the Anglo-American syndicate, which eventually 
might hold us responsible for damages and loss. 

Public sentiment among us was another element which 
could not but be taken into consideration. Since my arrival 
from Europe, I had observed that national feeling was 
unanimous in favor of our citizens who were fighting in 
Acre. It was easy to foresee that this sentiment could 
not fail to increase to such an extent and to assume such 
proportions that it would be impossible for a government 
controlled, as ours is, by public opinion, to remain indif¬ 
ferent to the sacrifices which those Brazilians were mak¬ 
ing in order that they might eventually live under the 
protection of our flag. How could we reconcile the 
fulfilment of our duties toward those afflicted com¬ 
patriots with the steadfast desire not to commit acts 
of hostility against a friendly government that opposed 
them? 

Finally, the necessity of a radical solution became 
clearer and imperative as a means of definitively avoiding, 
both in the interest of Brazil and in that of Bolivia, situa¬ 
tions of this nature. This object could not be attained, 
unless, in addition to the small tract of Acre comprised 
between the oblique line and parallel io° 20', southern 
Acre also, together with the Xapury and all the vast 
region to the west, likewise inhabited by Brazilians, 
should remain in the possession of Brazil. 

These four points,—that of the suspension of the 
fluvial commerce with Bolivia, that of the international 
syndicate, that of the Brazilians of Acre, and that of the 


22 Brazil and Bolivia Boundary Settlement 

sovereignty over the territory occupied by them,—have 
been settled. Relations purely commercial were first 
re-established. From the foreign syndicate we legally 
obtained a declaration absolutely renouncing any and 
all rights or possible claims against any one whatsoever, 
in consideration of a pecuniary indemnity incomparably 
less than the smallest expense which either Brazil or 
Bolivia would incur on account of a serious international 
complication. We declared in dispute part of the Acre 
territory, of the upper Purus and of the upper Jurud, 
adopting the interpretation most in conformity with the 
letter and spirit of the treaty of 1867, and with the view 
most prevalent among us, although it had not until then 
been the criterion of this Department. We induced 
Bolivia in a friendly manner to accept a modus videndi 
that allowed us to occupy, militarily and civilly, the 
territory in dispute, and to intervene as mediator in that 
which lies to the south, in order to prevent any armed 
collisions during the negotiations. Finally, after having 
disposed of all the embarrassing preliminaries, we pro¬ 
ceeded amicably and loyally to negotiate with Bolivia, 
and after careful consideration of the circumstances we 
arrived at the present compact, which assures great im¬ 
mediate and future advantages to both countries. 


By the present treaty Brazil incorporates into its 
patrimony a territory greater in extent than that of any 
of the States of Ceard, Rio Grande do Norte, Parahyba, 
Pernambuco, Algoas, Serjipe, Espirito Santos, Rio de 
Janeiro, and Santa Catharina, a territory which produces 
an annual revenue larger than that of more than half of 
the twenty States of our Union. We were not, however, 
inspired by material advantages of any kind. The re¬ 
sources of Acre were long known, and by our compatriots 



Brazil and Bolivia Boundary Settlement 23 

alone were they explored; nevertheless, the Government 
always continued to consider the territory as Bolivian and 
to give to Bolivia all possible facilities for utilizing it. It 
was necessary that the security of this continent should 
be menaced by the attempt to introduce the perturbing 
system of the chartered companies, and that we should 
be convinced of the impossibility of maintaining the 
good relations which we so highly value with the Boliv¬ 
ian Nation, so long as there existed under its sovereignty 
a territory exclusively inhabited by Brazilians who were 
hostile to it, before we took the steps to obtain the 
results now accomplished. 

In reality the greatest advantages of the territorial 
acquisition resulting from this treaty are not the mate¬ 
rial ones. Those of a moral and political order are far 
higher. Among these it suffices to mention that which is 
derived from the substantial improvement effected in the 
conditions of our control over the Amazon fluvial system 
exactly in the place where the rights of our riparian neigh¬ 
bors are troublesome to us. Being unable normally to 
administer the region now ceded, to which she had already 
officially given the name of Territorio de Colonias, Bolivia 
would have been obliged to resort to expedients embar¬ 
rassing to us, with a view to supply the essential con¬ 
ditions of control which she lacked. Recent examples of 
this are the decree opening the Acre River to the naviga¬ 
tion of the world, and the contracts for the lease of lands 
which created semi-sovereign entities. The cause having 
been removed, we need no longer fear the effect. 

Of the acquired territory, a part, which lies to the 
south of latitude io° 20', and which, although it repre¬ 
sents a smaller area than the other, contains the longest 
waterway and the richest forest of upper Acre, never was 
and never could be contested by us with Bolivia. Its 
area, reckoned by Rear-Admiral Guillobel, according to 


24 Brazil and Bolivia Boundary Settlement 

the best cartographic materials at our disposal, cannot be 
less than 48,108 square kilometers. 

The part of the territory that lies to the north of 
io° 20', the area of which, according to the same data, was 
estimated at nearly 142,900 square kilometers, was, as has 
already been stated, recently declared by us to be in dis¬ 
pute and was claimed as ours. Did it for this reason lose 
all its value to Bolivia? Certainly not. Moreover, al¬ 
though Brazil was convinced of her solid right, she could 
not ignore the possibility that the controversy might be 
decided in favor of the other litigant. To induce this 
litigant to desist from the contest and cede us his rights, 
was an advantage of great moment which we could not 
expect to secure gratuitously. These considerations dis¬ 
pose of the apparent inconsistency between having pro¬ 
claimed our rights to a part of the territory and then 
having immediately afterwards acquired it by means of a 
compensation. There was also another element in the 
case, viz.: The declaration on our part that the territory 
was in dispute—which was indeed strictly true, since the 
national opinion was in reality persuaded of our rights 
in the territory—this declaration, I repeat, was due to the 
diplomatic desire to give regularity to our occupation, 
which was an indispensable condition to the maintenance 
of peace and the setting on foot of negotiations for a direct 
agreement, which we finally reached to the advantage of 
both nations. 

What Brazil gives, under the provisions of the present 
treaty, in order to obtain from Bolivia the cession of a part 
of her territory and the abandonment of her alleged right 
over another part, may no doubt be considered as an ex¬ 
tremely advantageous compensation, and in fact so it is, 
but this does not prevent our advantages from being 
equally great. Arrangements in which neither of the 
interested parties loses, and still more those in which all 
gain, are always the best. 


Brazil and Bolivia Boundary Settlement 25 

In exchange for 142,900 square kilometers of land, 
which we disputed, and 48,100 of land which was acknow¬ 
ledged as hers—that is to say, in exchange for 191,000 
square kilometers—we gave to Bolivia, between the 
Madeira and Abunan rivers (following the reckoning 
above referred to), an area of 2,296 square kilometers, 
which is not inhabited by Brazilians but by Bolivians. 
If the ground on which we asked of Bolivia the cession 
of the basin of the Acre, and of the rivers which lie to the 
west of it, was that these territories were inhabited and 
cultivated by our citizens, how could we honestly deny 
to Bolivia a smaller tract inhabited and utilized by her 
citizens? It was, besides, necessary, in order to maintain 
the principle that it was not exactly a question of cession, 
but of exchange, of territories. And it is pertinent to 
observe that the present treaty does not introduce any 
innovation. The exchange of territories had already been 
foreseen and authorized by Article V of the treaty of March 
27, 1867. 1 

The exchange would, however, have been unjustly 
unequal, and could not have been accepted by Bolivia 
if it had consisted in the acknowledgment of our sove¬ 
reignty over 191,000 square kilometers of land in a state 
of full and valuable productivity, and the concession to 
her of scarcely 2,296 square kilometers of land which is at 
present unproductive. It was, therefore, but natural 
that our Bolivian opponents should ask other consider¬ 
able territorial compensations. These we reduced by 
increasing the pecuniary indemnity at first offered; but 
this, as has been pointed out, would not have been neces¬ 
sary, if we had agreed to the cession of the right bank of 
the Madeira from the confluence of the Mamore to that of 
the Jamary. 

By the treaty the following concessions are granted 
to Bolivia in addition to that above mentioned: 

J See Note A, infra, p. 36. 


26 Brazil and Bolivia Boundary Settlement 


723 square kilometers on the right bank of the Para¬ 
guay River, within the marshy lands known as Bahia 
Negra; 

116 square kilometers on the Caceres lagoon, com¬ 
prising a strip of land (49.6 square kilometers), which 
permits the establishment of a more favorable anchorage 
for commerce than that which was granted to Bolivia 
in 1867; 

20.3 square kilometers, presenting the same conditions, 
on the Mandiore lagoon; 

8.2 square kilometers on the southern margin of the 
Gahiba lagoon; 

The construction of a railway in Brazilian territory 
connecting Santo Antonio, in the Madeira, with Villa 
Bella, at the confluence of the Beni and Mamore; 

Freedom of transit on this railway and on the rivers 
to the ocean, with the corresponding custom-house 
facilities which she already enjoyed by former treaties; 

Finally, the payment of £2,000,000 sterling in two 
installments. 

The concessions intended to facilitate the access of 
Bolivia to the river Paraguay represent only a small de¬ 
velopment of the treaty of 1867. By this compact the 
boundary, which we maintained in the so-called Serra dos 
Limites, was drawn back to the east, with the object of 
conceding to Bolivia the proprietorship of half of Bahia 
Negra and of the Caceres, Mandiore, Gahiba, and Uberaba 
lagoons, so that she could become a riparian nation of the 
Paraguay, as was advised by Tavares Bastos, Pimenta 
Bueno (Marquez de S. Vicente), A. Pereira Pinto, and 
other distinguished Brazilians. It was the intention of 
the Imperial Government thus to give Bolivia five ports 
in those lagoons, in communication with the Paraguay 
River. The Bolivians, however, lost their part of Bahia 
Negra in 1888, as it was then occupied by the Para- 


Brazil and Bolivia Boundary Settlement 27 

guayans. In the Caceres lagoon, Bolivia found no point 
at which she could establish a port. The case proved to 
be the same on the Mandiore and Uberaba lagoons. 
Only in the Gahiba lagoon was it found, in a late explora¬ 
tion by Capt. Bolland who was sent thither by General 
Pando, that there existed sufficient water and facilities 
for small craft to run in and out, and that it was possible 
to construct on the western bank a port that had already 
been planned. 

Having learned that the idea of the Imperial Govern¬ 
ment of 1867 could not be carried out, the Government 
of the Republic, bearing also in mind the advantage of 
attracting to Matto-Grosso the commercial traffic of the 
southeastern region of Bolivia, endeavored in 1896 to 
find a remedy. To that end, on March 13th of that year, 
a protocol was framed in the city of Rio de Janeiro, and 
signed by Messrs. Carlos de Carvalho, Minister of Foreign 
Relations, and Federico Diez de Medina, Minister of 
Bolivia, which granted to that Republic, in gratuitous 
servitude, the place called Tamarindeiro, together with 
a strip of land on the southern bank of the Caceres lagoon, 
between Puerto Suarez and Corumba, in order that she 
might establish there a custom house. This same 
Tamarindeiro and the strip of land, which we now transfer 
to Bolivia, constitute the most substantial compensation 
which the present treaty gives her in the region of the 
Paraguay. 

The construction of the Madeira and Mamore railway 
is another great advantage which we offered to the neigh¬ 
boring nation, and happily it is of still more advantage 
to us. It fulfils the promises made to Bolivia in Article 
IX of the Treaty of 1867, 1 an d solemnly renewed in that 
of March 15, 1882, of which it was the only object, with¬ 
out asking any territorial compensation. Its construction 
I See Note A, infra, p. 37. 


28 Brazil and Bolivia Boundary Settlement 


was advised and urged in the time of the Empire by many 
of our most renowned and far-seeing statesmen, such as 
Tavares Bastos and the Marquez de S. Vicente, heretofore 
mentioned, and by Baron Cotegipe, the Viscount Rio- 
Branco, and others. The conditions on which we now 
engage to construct it are not urgent. 

The term for the completion of the work was virtually 
left to the good faith of Brazil, who, I am sure, will for 
this very reason endeavor to fulfil her promises, although 
she does not assume any material responsibility in case 
of force majeure. 

The Argentine Republic and that of Chile, pursuing 
wise economic policies, are now constructing and are in 
the future to construct in Bolivian territory railways 
intended to draw to their littoral the commerce of that 
neighboring nation. Nevertheless, neither Chile nor 
Argentina comes in contact with Bolivia through lands 
so rich as those of the Beni* and Madre de Dios, which can 
have easy communication with Europe and North Amer¬ 
ica only by means of the Madeira and the Amazon. We 
should be deprived of the great advantage which we de¬ 
rive from being nearer to European and American ports, 
if we made no effort likewise to profit by the Bolivian 
transit commerce, by worthily competing for it. 

The Madeira and Mamore railway will undoubtedly be 
beneficial to the States of Matto-Grosso, Amazon, and Pard. 
In exchange for some water, marshes, and two-and-a-half 
leagues of land which are entirely useless to it, and which 
it relinquishes in the interest of the whole Brazilian 
nation, Matto-Grosso will gain an important railway con¬ 
structed by the Union, and enter into commercial rela¬ 
tions with the Amazon and northern countries. 

Lastly, as there is no equivalency in the area of the 
territories exchanged, Brazil gives to Bolivia a pecuniary 
compensation of £ 2,000,000 sterling, intended for the con- 


Brazil and Bolivia Boundary Settlement 29 

struction of railways and other improvements which will 
indirectly be advantageous to us, since they will increase 
the traffic of our Madeira railway. While the investment 
of this sum is in itself remunerative, it must also be borne 
in mind that, according to recognized data, the revenue 
of the annexed territory is more than a sufficient guaranty 
for the sacrifice of the Treasury, and will even permit us in 
a short time wholly to extinguish the entire outlay. 


The territory which by the present treaty is assigned 
to Brazil, and that which passes to Bolivia between the 
Abunan and the Madeira, are also claimed by Peru. The 
Brazilian Government, being informed of this fact, more 
than once assured that of Peru that her possible rights 
would always be reserved, no matter what the result of 
the negotiations with Bolivia might be. This is con¬ 
firmed in Article VIII of the treaty. The pretensions of 
Peru, however, go far beyond what is generally supposed; 
they even go so far as to consider as Peruvian a part of 
the State of Amazonas much more extensive than the 
territory which was the principal cause of the present 
treaty. According to Peru’s ideas, so far as we know them 
by recent cartographic documents of official origin, her 
boundary line with Brazil, from a point a little below the 
principal source of the Javary, would follow the parallel 
running through that point on to the left bank of the 
Madeira. The area comprised between that line, the 
Madeira, and the oblique Javary-Beni line forms a tri¬ 
angle much larger than the so-called triangle in dispute in 
Acre, since it embraces not less than 251,330 square 
kilometers of territory which we have always deemed to 
be free from any question. Our boundary dispute with 
Peru, therefore, does not arise from the treaty which we 
have just concluded with Bolivia. 



30 Brazil and Bolivia Boundary Settlement 

This is not the occasion on which minutely to set forth 
our reasons, but, with due respect to the opposing opinion, 
we have so much confidence in our rights that we cannot 
entertain any apprehension concerning them. 


This is, Mr. President, my opinion relative to the treaty, 
a copy of which I beg to submit to Your Excellency for 
the usual proceedings. I believe that it represents, apart 
from the advantages already described, the best solution 
of the difficulties which I encountered when I took pos¬ 
session of the office which Your Excellency committed to 
my care. 

The other solutions which have been proposed, more or 
less publicly, are two: 

1. To avail ourselves of the aid of the Brazilians in 
Acre, in the hope that they might definitely attain their 
independence and then ask for the annexation to Brazil 
of the State which they should thus establish and which 
we would receive into our Union without giving any com¬ 
pensation to Bolivia; or 

2. To appeal at once to arbitration for the inter¬ 
pretation of the latter part of Article II of the treaty 
of 1867, and maintain before the arbitrators the line of the 
parallel of io° 20'. 

The first proposition, meaning, in fact, a disguised con¬ 
quest, would lead us into a course of action in contrast 
with the good faith which the Brazilian Government has 
never failed to employ in its intercourse with other 
nations. We should embark on a perilous adventure 
which would be without precedent in our diplomatic 
history, and which, because of its slow development, 
would no doubt give rise to complications and disagreeable 
surprises, and would for that reason be of uncertain issue. 



Brazil and Bolivia Boundary Settlement 31 

And the disguised conquest, which we should in violation 
of the constitution of the Republic thus attempt, 1 would 
extend not only to the territory which we believe to be 
ours, but also to that lying to the south, and unquestion¬ 
ably belonging to Bolivia by virtue of the treaty of 1867, 
which was already in the control of the armed Acreans. 
For, it must not be forgotten that the Acre problem could 
and can be solved only on condition that all the territories 
occupied by our citizens should remain Brazilian. I 
will add that we are not permitted to affirm that the 
Acreans would surely be victorious. In the possible 
event of their not having the better part, their heroic 
sacrifice would wound and move the national feeling, 
which would expose us to the risk of being dragged into 
an inglorious war. These unhappy contingencies might 
also arise in case the Acreans were victorious and we 
accepted their proposal of annexation. 

The resort to arbitration would involve the incon¬ 
venience of delaying four or five years, if not longer, the 
desired solution; and even if the award of the judge were 
favorable to us it would not afford a radical or definitive 
conclusion, since it would not suppress or resolve the 
difficulties with which the two countries have been strug¬ 
gling since 1899. In appealing to arbitration we should 
abandon and sacrifice thousands of Brazilians who had in 
good faith settled to the south of parallel io° 20'. The 
arbitrator could grant us only the territory which we had 
declared to be in dispute to the north of that parallel, 
while to the south of it lie the greater part of Acre and the 
most of the Brazilian settlements. During the process 
of arbitration, these compatriots of ours would continue 
their conspiracies and revolts against the Bolivian au¬ 
thorities. Political agitation would persist among us in 
regard to the Acre question, and in Bolivia perhaps the 

1 See Note D, infra, p. 42. 


32 Brazil and Bolivia Boundary Settlement 

temptation of some new lease, with a view to subdue, 
by means of foreign resources, a population which had 
shown itself steadfastly hostile to her. And owing to the 
instability of opinion in some of our political centres, and 
to the influence which they occasionally might exert on 
that of the real or apparent majority of the nation, it was 
impossible to foresee to what decisions we might be led, in 
moments of patriotic exaltation, by the spectacle of the 
persistent revolt of these Brazilians or of their final sub¬ 
jugation by sheer extermination. 

It is furthermore very likely that the mind of the arbi¬ 
trator would be influenced less by the arguments which 
we could adduce than by the constant tradition of thirty- 
five years, during which the Government of Brazil not 
only considered as unquestionably Bolivian the territory 
situated between the oblique Javary-Beni line and the 
above-mentioned parallel, but also performed, before the 
demarcation was concluded, positive acts which acknow¬ 
ledged Bolivian sovereignty, agreeing to the establish¬ 
ment of a custom house in Porto Alonso, afterwards Port 
Acre, and establishing there a Brazilian consulate. I 
must for myself declare that, with such high interests of 
the present and future of this nation at stake, I would not 
deem arbitration advisable, unless a direct agreement 
was entirely impossible and the arbitration was conducted 
outside the restrictions of the treaty of 1867 an d with 
special guarantees which it would be difficult for the other 
party to accept. 

A direct agreement was, indeed, the preferable expe¬ 
dient, the most expeditious and the only one that could 
efficaciously assure an immediate advantage as well to 
Brazil as to Bolivia. We had recourse to it, and after 
patient labor we secured its realization in a manner 
satisfactory and honorable to both countries, solving 
radically not only all present questions, but also com- 


Brazil and Bolivia Boundary Settlement 33 

prising in a general conception everything pertaining to 
our permanent intercourse with Bolivia. 

Happily it was not necessary, in order to attain this 
result, to introduce any innovation into existing rights as 
between the two countries. The present agreement, as has 
heretofore been pointed out, is in its essence a simple de¬ 
velopment and application of that of 1867. There is not, 
properly speaking, a cession, but a reciprocal exchange of 
territories of each country inhabited by citizens of the 
other, precisely as is provided in Article V of the compact 
of 1867, above mentioned. But, even if we were to de¬ 
scribe as a “ cession of territories” an exchange by which 
we give 3,200 square kilometers and receive 191,000, it 
could not be said that such an act is in itself indecorous, 
and much less that it is not authorized by the traditions 
of free peoples having the highest sense of honor in the 
world, such as the United States of America and Switzer¬ 
land, and by the juridical and customary precedents of 
our fatherland. The constitution of the Empire author¬ 
ized, in Article Cl I, Paragraph 8, the cession of territory, 
on condition that it be sanctioned by the General Legis¬ 
lative Assembly. And the principle was not only ad¬ 
mitted, but it was carried into effect on several occasions. 

By the present treaty, however, we do not lose but 
acquire territory. Moreover, we make our first territorial 
acquisition since we became an independent nation. 

The decisions of the two disputes, in which I have had 
the honor to defend the interests of Brazil, 1 did not in¬ 
crease but barely maintained the national patrimony 
within the limits sanctioned by long-continued affirma¬ 
tions of our rights. Only now have we accomplished true 
territorial expansion, with the fortunate circumstance 
that in securing it we do not despoil any neighboring and 
friendly nation; on the contrary, we liberate her from a 
1 See Note E, infra, p. 43. 


34 Brazil and Bolivia Boundary Settlement 

burden, offering her material and political compensations 
the equivalency of which has been shown, and which the 
future will transform into as many bonds of international 
fellowship. 

I assure Your Excellency with all sincerity that I value 
this work, in which, favored by the steadfast support 
with which I have been honored, I have had the good 
fortune to take part under Your Excellency’s Govern¬ 
ment, more highly than the other two which were judged 
with so much kindness by our compatriots and which I 
was enabled to accomplish under conditions undoubtedly 
much more propitious. 

Meanwhile the treaty will not be complete till it has 
received the sanction of the National Congress. Here 
ends the work of Your Excellency’s Plenipotentiaries, 
and begins the responsibility of the representatives of 
the Nation. 

I have the honor to renew to Your Excellency the 
assurance of my deepest respect. 


Rio-Branco. 


Note A. 


Treaty of Friendship, Commerce, Navigation, Boun¬ 
daries, and Extradition, between Brazil and 
Bolivia, Signed at La Paz, March 27, 1867: Articles 
II-IX, inclusive, and an Explanatory Note. 


II. His Majesty the Emperor of Brazil, and the Republic 
of Bolivia agree in recognizing as a basis on which to deter¬ 
mine the boundaries between their respective territories the 
uti possidetis , and, in conformity with this principle, they 
declare and define the said boundary as follows: 

The boundary between the Empire of Brazil and the Re¬ 
public of Bolivia shall commence at the River Paraguay in 
latitude 20° 10', where the Negra Bay discharges its waters; 
shall pass through the centre of this to the bottom of the 
bay, and from thence in a straight line to the Lake of Caceres, 
cutting it through its centre; from thence it shall proceed to 
Lake Mandiore, cutting it through the middle, as also through 
the middle of the Lakes Gahiba and Uberaba, in as many 
straight lines as may be necessary, so that the high lands of 
the Pedras de Amolar (Grindstones), and of the Insua be on 
the Brazilian side. 

From the extreme north of Lake Uberaba it shall run in a 
straight line to the southern extremity of Corrixa-Grande, 
saving the Brazilian and Bolivian towns which are respec¬ 
tively on the side of Brazil or of Bolivia; from the extremity 
of Corrixa-Grande it shall run in a straight line to the Morro 
da Boa-Vista, and to the Quatro Irmaos; from these also in 
a straight line to the sources of the river Verde; it shall 

35 


36 Brazil and Bolivia Boundary Settlement 

descend with this river to its confluence with the Guapore, 
and through the middle of this and of the Mamore, as far as 
Beni, where the river Madeira begins. 

From this river the boundary shall proceed to the west, by 
a parallel line taken from its left bank in latitude io° 20', 
until it meets the river Javary. 

Should the Javary’s sources be to the north of that line, 
from east to west, the boundary shall run on from the said 
latitude in a line to seek the principal source of the said 
Javary. 

III. The High Contracting Parties shall each name a 
Commissioner within the term of six months, reckoning from 
the exchange of ratifications of the present Treaty; and in 
the shortest possible time the two Commissioners shall pro¬ 
ceed, by common consent, to mark out the divisional line, at 
those points where it shall be necessary, and in conformity 
with the stipulations which precede. 

IV. If, while marking out the boundary, serious doubts 
should occur, proceeding from inexactness of the indications 
given in the present Treaty, these doubts shall be solved ami¬ 
ably by both Governments, to whom the Commissioners shall 
submit them, the agreement which solves the said doubts 
being considered as an interpretation of, or addition to, the 
said Treaty; and it is understood that should any doubts of 
the kind occur, at any point whatever, the marking out of 
the line shall nevertheless not cease to be proceeded with in 
other places which are indicated in the Treaty. 

V. If with a view to fix, in any one point or another, 
boundaries which may be more natural or convenient for 
either nation, an exchange of territory appear advantageous, 
this may take place, fresh negotiations being entered into; 
but going on, nevertheless, with the demarcation of the line, 
as though such exchange were not to be effected. 

In this stipulation is comprised the case of exchange of 
territory in order to give space to any hamlet or public estab¬ 
lishment which may be injured by the too close approxima¬ 
tion of the divisionary line. 

VI. His Majesty the Emperor of Brazil and the Republic 


Brazil and Bolivia Boundary Settlement 37 

of Bolivia agree in declaring the communication between the 
two countries to be free over the common frontier; and the 
transit of passengers and of luggage over the same exempt 
from every national or municipal impost, and only subject 
to the police and fiscal regulations which each of the two 
Governments will establish in its territories. 

VII. His Majesty the Emperor of Brazil permits, as a 
special favor, the waters of the navigable rivers running 
through the Brazilian territory, to the ocean, to be free to 
the commercial navigation of the Republic. 

The Republic of Bolivia also reciprocally permits the 
navigable waters of her rivers to be free to the trade or com¬ 
mercial navigation of Brazil. 

It is, however, understood and declared that this naviga¬ 
tion does not include that from port to port of the same 
nation, or the river coasting trade, which the High Contract¬ 
ing Parties reserve for their subjects and citizens. 

VIII. The navigation of the river Madeira, from the water¬ 
fall of Santo Antonio upwards, shall only be permitted to 
the two High Contracting Parties, even should Brazil open 
the said river up to that point to third nations. Neverthe¬ 
less, the subjects of these other nations shall enjoy the privi¬ 
lege of loading merchandise in Brazilian or Bolivian vessels 
employed in that trade. 

IX. Brazil undertakes to grant at once to Bolivia, under 
the same police and excise conditions as those imposed on its 
own subjects, saving the fiscal dues, the use of any road 
which it may hereafter open from the first waterfall, on the 
right bank of the river Mamori, to that of Santo Antonio on 
the river Madeira, in order that the citizens of the Republic 
may avail themselves of the means which Brazilian naviga¬ 
tion may afford, below the said waterfall of Santo Antonio, 
for the passage of persons and carriage of merchandise. 


In testimony whereof, we the undersigned Plenipoten¬ 
tiaries of His Majesty the Emperor of Brazil, and of His 
Excellency the President ad interim of the Republic of 


38 Brazil and Bolivia Boundary Settlement 

Bolivia, in virtue of our plenary powers, sign the present 
Treaty, and affix thereto our seals. 

City of La Paz de Ayuacucho, in Bolivia, this 27th day of 
March, 1867. 

(L. S.) Felippe Lopes Netto. 

(L. S.) Mariano Donato Munoz. 

Notes Exchanged between the Brazilian and Bolivian 
Plenipotentiaries, Explanatory of Articles II and 
XXVII OF THE ABOVE TREATY (NAVIGATION OF LAKES, 
and Deserters). 


La Paz, September 19, 1867. 

M. LE Ministre, 

As it is expedient to determine the meaning of Articles II 
and XXVII of the Treaty of Friendship, Boundaries, Navi¬ 
gation, Commerce, and Extradition, which we signed on the 
27th March last, in our quality of Plenipotentiaries of Brazil 
and Bolivia, I consider it my duty to declare, that at the 
conference which preceded the adoption of the said Treaty, 
it was understood between us, and it is the intention of our 
Governments respecting Article II, that notwithstanding the 
divisional line of the two countries passes through the middle 
of the Lakes Negra, Caceres, Gahiba, Mandior£, and Uberaba, 
the navigation of these lakes, as also that of Gahiba-Mirim, 
is common to Brazil and Bolivia, the right of freely navigat¬ 
ing in the waters of each State being, therefore, open to the 
citizens of each of the High Contracting Parties, so that the 
police regulations of that navigation are to be determined by 
agreement between the two Governments. 


I avail, &c., 

Felippe Lopes Netto. 

To his Excellency Dr. D. Mariano Donato Munoz. 

[A note to the same effect, and under the same date, was 
exchanged by the Bolivian Plenipotentiary.] 

59 British and Foreign State Papers, 1161-1164, 1168-1169. 


Brazil and Bolivia Boundary Settlement 39 

Note B. 

“The principles which are applicable to the case are such 
as are dictated by reason, and have been adopted in practice 
by European Powers, in the discoveries and acquisitions 
which they respectively made in the new world: they are 
principles intelligible, and, at the same time, founded in strict 
justice. The first of these is, that when any European nation 
takes possession of any extensive seacoast, that possession is 
understood as extending into the interior country, to the 
sources of the rivers emptying within that coast, to all their 
branches and the country they cover; and to give it a right, 
in exclusion of all other nations, to the same. It is evident 
that some rule or principle must govern the rights of Euro¬ 
pean Powers, in regard to each other, in all such cases; and 
it is certain that none can be adopted in those to which it 
applies, more reasonable or just than the present one. Many 
weighty considerations show the propriety of it. Nature 
seems to have destined a range of territory, so described, for 
the same society, to have connected its several parts together 
by the ties of a common interest, and to have detached them 
from others. If this principle is departed from, it must be 
by attaching to such discovery and possession a more en¬ 
larged or contracted scope of acquisition; but a slight atten¬ 
tion to the subject will demonstrate the absurdity of either. 
The latter would be to restrict the rights of a European 
Power, who discovered and took possession of a new country, 
to the spot on which its troops or settlements rested: a doc¬ 
trine which has been totally disclaimed by all the Powers 
who made discoveries and acquired possessions in America. 
The other extreme would be equally improper; that is, that 
the nation who made such discovery should, in all cases, be 
entitled to the whole of the territory so discovered. In the 
case of an island, whose extent was seen, which might be 
soon sailed round, and preserved by a few forts, it may apply 
with justice; but in that of a continent, it would be abso¬ 
lutely absurd; accordingly, we find that this opposite extreme 
has been equally disclaimed and disavowed by the doctrine 


40 Brazil and Bolivia Boundary Settlement 


and practice of European nations. The great continent of 
America, North and South, was never claimed by any one 
European nation, nor was either portion of it. Their preten¬ 
sions have been always bounded by more moderate and 
rational principles. The one laid down has obtained general 
assent. 

“This principle was completely established in the contro¬ 
versy which produced the war of 1755. Great Britain con¬ 
tended that she had a right, founded in the discovery and 
possession of such territory, to define its boundaries, by given 
latitudes in grants to individuals, retaining the sovereignty 
to herself from sea to sea. This pretension, on her part, was 
opposed by France and Spain, and was finally abandoned by 
Great Britain in the treaty of 1763, which established the 
Mississippi as the western boundary of her possessions. It 
was opposed by France and Spain on the principle here in¬ 
sisted on, which of course gives it the highest possible sanc¬ 
tion in the present case.” 

Messrs. Monroe and Pinckney, Plenipotentiaries of the United 
States, to Don Pedro Cevallos, Minister of State of Spain, April 
20, 1805, concerning the boundary of Louisiana; Am. State 
Papers , For. Rel., ii, 662, 664. 

The statement of the American plenipotentiaries is textually 
adopted by Phillimore, Int. Law , I, § CCXXXVIII; and by 
Field, Int. Code , 2d ed., Art. 75. See, also, Pradier-Fod6r6 
Droit Int. Public , ii, § 799, pp. 357-358. 

“The Commissioners of the United States on this occasion, 
in applying the above principle to the claim of their Nation, 
were careful not to press the doctrine of virtual possession 
beyond those limits within which the Nations of Europe 
would be in accord with them. On the authority of the 
principle above stated, they say, ‘ It is evident that by the 
discovery and possession of the River Mississippi in its whole 
length, and the Coast adjoining it, the United States are en¬ 
titled to the whole country dependent on that River, the 
waters which empty into it, and their several branches, 
within the limits on that coast.’ In other words, they main¬ 
tain that the occupation of the seacoast entitled a Nation 
to the possession of the inland territory, and of the navigable 


Brazil and Bolivia Boundary Settlement 41 

rivers included within it; in which position of law all Euro¬ 
pean nations agree.” 

Twiss, Law of Nations (1861), i, § 117, pp. 171-172. 

Note C. 

On July 11, 1901, the Bolivian Government, acting through 
its Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary at the 
Court of St. James, entered, at London, into a contract with 
an Anglo-American Syndicate, which was incorporated in 
the United States under the title of “The Bolivian Syndicate 
of New York City.” By this contract, which was approved 
by the Bolivian Congress, December 20, 1901, and duly pub¬ 
lished as a law, the Bolivian Government assumed to make 
to the Syndicate a concession of important rights, powers, 
and privileges in the territory of Acre (Aquiry), concerning 
which the controversy with Brazil was then pending. 

“The Syndicate,” so the concession declared, was formed 
for the purpose of “constituting and incorporating” a “com¬ 
pany,” which was to take over for thirty years, with a 
privilege of renewal, the “fiscal administration” of the entire 
territory of Acre, and which was to that end to be invested 
with “powers,” and with “rights, privileges and lands,” for 
its development and “colonization.” This company was to be 
incorporated “in England, or in the United States of North 
[sic] America, or one of such States, or in some other foreign 
country,” and was to have a capital “of not less than ^500,000 
sterling,” in “the currency of the country in which” it should 
be “incorporated”; and the first privilege it was to possess 
was the enjoyment for five years of the exclusive right to buy 
in fee simple lands not already disposed of in the territory. 

It was also to possess “all mineral rights” in the territory, 
the mineral laws of Bolivia meanwhile remaining suspended, 
—as well as the right to construct and maintain docks, rail¬ 
roads, tramways, telegraphs, electric works, and telephones; 
and these things it might do either itself, or through other 
companies which it might constitute, thus exercising the 
power indefinitely to reproduce itself and to increase the 
hold of foreign interests. 


42 Brazil and Bolivia Boundary Settlement 


These vast privileges were, however, but subsidiary to the 
political and sovereign powers to be exercised by the company. 

It was to possess for thirty years “the sole, absolute, 
exclusive and uncontrolled right, power and authority to col¬ 
lect and enforce payment of” revenues, rents and taxes, sub¬ 
ject only to an accounting and division with the Bolivian 
Government; and, subject only to the provisions of treaties, 
and of the traffic “of such vessels as now exist,” it was to 
have “the exclusive right to grant concessions for the navi¬ 
gation” of the rivers and navigable waters of the territory. 

The Bolivian Government was indeed to be permitted to 
appoint a representative in the territory to be known as the 
“national delegate”; but, subject only to the “supervision” 
of this delegate, whose salary the company was to pay, the 
company was to “provide and maintain” a “sufficient force 
of police” for the “protection of the inhabitants” and the 
enforcement of law and order; and if at any time the Govern¬ 
ment should think it necessary, the company was to equip 
and maintain, in addition to the police force, military and 
naval forces “for the defence of the rivers” and “the preser¬ 
vation of internal.order.” 

Finally, it was stipulated that if, on the expiration of the 
specified term, the concession should not be renewed “on the 
same conditions,” or on others mutually agreed on, the Gov¬ 
ernment was to “resume” the “administration” of the 
territory. 

As one of the first preliminaries to the amicable settlement 
of the controversy with Bolivia, the Government of Brazil 
obtained from the Syndicate, for a sum of money, the abso¬ 
lute renunciation of all its rights and claims under the con¬ 
cession, the effect of which was thus completely nullified. 

Note D. 

The Constitution of the United States of Brazil, Title V, 
Article 88, provides: “The United States of Brazil shall in 
no case undertake a war of conquest, directly or indirectly, 
either by themselves or in alliance with another nation.” 


Brazil and Bolivia Boundary Settlement 43 


Note E. 

By a treaty concluded at Buenos Ayres, September 7, 1889, 
Brazil and the Argentine Republic agreed to submit to the 
arbitration of the President of the United States their re¬ 
spective claims to a tract of territory popularly called “Mis- 
iones.” The dispute as to dominion over this tract grew out 
of a difference as to the position of two rivers. It was ad¬ 
mitted that the divisional line began, at the north, at the 
river Parana, opposite the mouth of the Iguagd, and followed 
the course of the latter river for some distance eastwardly; 
that, farther to the south, it followed the course of the Uru¬ 
guay; and that, between these rivers, it was formed by two 
connecting or practically connecting streams. But, as to the 
positions and courses of these connecting streams, the two 
countries were unable to agree. Brazil maintained that they 
were two streams called the Santo Antonio and Pepiry- 
GuaQd. The Argentine Republic said that they were two 
streams more to the east, called the San Antonio-Guazu and 
the Pepiry or Pepiry-Guazu. Brazil replied that the streams 
claimed by the Argentine Republic under these names were 
really the Chapeco and the Chopim, and that in 1888 the 
Argentine Republic transferred one of the names still more 
to the east, finally resting upon the rivers Chapecd and Jan- 
gada. The area of the disputed territory was upwards of 
30,621 square kilometers, or 11,823 English square miles, or 
991.3 geographical square leagues. The treaty of Septem¬ 
ber 7, 1889, stipulated (Art. V) that the boundary should be 
constituted by the rivers which Brazil or the Argentine 
Republic had designated, and that the arbitrator should pro¬ 
nounce in favor of the claims of the one or the other party. 
By the award, rendered at Washington, February 5, 1895, it 
was declared that the boundary should be constituted by the 
rivers which Brazil had designated. 

By a treaty signed at Rio de Janeiro, April 10, 1897, the 
Governments of France and Brazil agreed to submit to 
the Swiss Federal Council, as arbitrator, their dispute as to 
the boundary between Brazil and French Guiana. The French 







































































































































































































































MAP SHOWING THE NEW BOUNDARY BETWEEN 
BRAZIL AND BOLIVIA IN THE REGION 
OF THE AMAZON 




- " s§SS ' : 






Dertvpen. 




\KUmJfu 


A V 
■ 




Boundary according to the Treaty of 1867 

Boundary as modified by the Treaty of 190i 


RlBERMTAw 


r .i 6 trtaU ’ 




Peruvian claim —----- 

Territory transferred by Bolivia north of parallel 10 20 

Territory transferred by Bolivia south of parallel 10 20 
Territory transferred in exchange by Brazil 




p. /?u+suts Airtts 1‘ori-t. 

i F.Vtcsnte _ tV < 




kilometres 

























































































































































































































































































































































































































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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
































































